In a catastrophic aviation event involving a downed aircraft, a flight recorder is one of the most useful tools for investigators to piece together the crucial moments leading up to the aircraft accident or incident to determine the cause of the crash. One type of flight recorder is a cockpit voice recorder (CVR) that records the audio environment of the flight deck of an aircraft. A CVR records conversations in the cockpit and communications between the cockpit crew and others such as air traffic control personnel on the ground. Another type of flight recorder is a flight data recorder (FDR) that records information about the electronic and mechanical equipment of the aircraft. A FDR records information such as flight parameters (e.g., altitude, speed, etc.) of the aircraft, and may include engine performance data, or other information useful in assisting investigators to determine the cause of a crash.
A flight recorder is designed to withstand high impact forces and high temperatures such that the flight recorder is likely to survive the conditions of a crash. However, while a flight recorder is designed to survive a crash, there is still a probability that the flight recorder may not survive if the crash conditions are extreme enough. Furthermore, a flight recorder is only useful if the flight recorder can be located after a crash. For example, when an aircraft crashes at sea and is submerged in water, locating the flight recorder affixed to the downed aircraft can take weeks to months, and even years, and can be costly in terms of the amount of money and time spent in locating the flight recorder. Even when an aircraft crashes on land, it may take significant effort and time to locate the flight recorder, for example, when the crash site is an unfamiliar or rough terrain. Such delay in locating the flight recorder not only frustrates investigators but can also risk the safety of other aircrafts. For example, when a catastrophic aviation event is caused by a design flaw in an aircraft component, the delay in identifying the problematic component can risk the safety of other aircrafts that employ the same type of aircraft component.
Flight recorders on aircraft collect at least 25 hours of flight data and at least two hours of cockpit voice information. This information is stored within a crash-survivable memory module which can be retrieved in the event of a crash or as part of regular maintenance. The Achilles' heel of typical “fixed” recorders is that they must be located in order to retrieve the data and in many cases cannot be found after a catastrophic incident. For accidents that occur over water it often takes weeks, months and sometimes years to locate fixed recorders, and often at great expense. Deployable flight recorders (DFRs) solve this problem by separating from the aircraft during a crash thereby avoiding the extreme conditions of the impact zone and allowing for easier recovery.
Conventional deployable flight recorders, however, could be improved. For example, a conventional deployable flight recorder could potentially inadvertently deploy from an aircraft during flight due to a malfunction (e.g., a false detection of a crash). If the flight recorder inadvertently deploys in flight, it could potentially contact parts of the aircraft including the fuselage, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, etc. This could be problematic as damage caused to a plane in flight could result in an emergency landing and costly repairs.
Another problem that exists is the inability of conventional flight recorder units to be repaired, serviced, or replaced without significant work or delay. Conventional deployable flight recorder units have electronics that are integrated with an outer shell, which can serve as part of the exterior of an airplane. If the conventional recorder unit needs to be replaced, then the outer surface of the shell must be re-painted to match the color and/or design of the airplane body or tail art. If the conventional record unit needs to be serviced or repaired, a new outer shell needs to be provided because the electronics are integrated with the outer shell. The new outer shell must also be painted so that it matches the outer surface of the airplane. This can result in a significant amount of downtime and expense.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other problems, individually and collectively.